Demon's Gate
by Spunky0ne
Summary: Central 46 acts to protect Soul Society, but instead unleashes a terrifying monster. What can stop a monster, but a bigger monster? Yaoi, mention of mpreg...Aizen/Urahara, Ichigo/Tetsuya, Byakuya/Renji
1. The Never King

**Demon's Gate**

 **By Spunky0ne**

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 **AIZENFANS! It's that time again. First day of May and the beginning of the month of Aizenposts to end all Aizenposts! Strap yourselves to a chair (lol) and enjoy the Aizenwave. And to start it off, a shiny, brand new Aizenstory. Enjoy! Love you, Spunky**

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 **In the aftermath of the quincy war, Central 46 takes a dangerous step to protect Soul Society. But the monster unleashed will destroy everything unless drastic measures are taken. Desperate to destroy the demon, the Gotei captains use their power to suppress it, while sending three men to find and acquire the help of the banished Sosuke Aizen. Yaoi, mention of mpreg. Aizen/Kisuke, Ichigo/Tetsuya, Byakuya/Renji**

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 **Chapter 1: The Never King**

A little shaft of light seeped in through an open window, touching the eyelids of a shabbily dressed brown haired man, who lay beneath a poor blanket in a bed that creaked loudly as he slowly sat up, blinking and running his fingers through his hair. He listened carefully, but heard no voices nearby, so he deemed it safe enough to emerge from the tiny hidden dwelling in order to gather food for a meal.

He walked a short distance to a small running brook, where he washed his hands and face, then drank what he could gather in his hands. He gathered some of the water in an old leather flask he carried, then crossed the brook and crept through a thick tangle of brush, to a hidden clearing, where he had planted a number of seeds he had managed to find or steal. He gathered a small amount of food, then returned to the little, concealed house and consumed it while looking solemnly out the window.

 _I wonder how long I've been here,_ he mused, _I counted the days from the first I remember, but there are many years missing from my memory. There must be a reason I woke here, but I don't know if I came here because I wanted to, or if I was trying to escape something…or someone. I sometimes dream of faces or voices, grey images that might be real or not. But the truth of my circumstances escapes me. And while I don't know who I am or how I got here, it is best to be cautious. I may be physically strong, but the brutes of the low Rukongai are stronger. I have no powers of the sort that some people do. I only possess intelligence and survival instincts._

 _It is strange, but my life right now feels very much like I am waiting._

The distant cracking sound of a twig snapping made the man stiffen and look curiously in the direction of the sound. He paused in his eating and moved to the window, watching closely as three men appeared out of the nearby trees. The first was a man of average height with sort, tumbled blonde hair that was tucked beneath a green and white striped hat. He wore green clothing underneath a dark colored coat and carried a cane. The second man was taller and younger, with spiky ginger hair, and the third was smaller, with a more delicate build, with waves of raven colored hair that fell in waves to his shoulders and bright sapphire eyes that the watching man could see with odd clarity from such a distance.

 _They don't look like the kind of people who inhabit the town near here. They are too well dressed. And if they are here and walking so confidently, then they are powerful men. I suspect they know already that I am here._

 _They are…looking for me?_

 _I wonder if I should let myself be found._

He considered the poor traps he had set around the area for anyone who might accidentally find their way to the hidden house and concluded that they were unlikely to stop three men like these. Instead, he slipped out of the house and moved on silent feet to a little place he had hollowed out in the brush along the back of the house. He remained there, listening carefully as the men easily found the house, dismantled the traps, and entered the dwelling.

"Well," said the man in the striped hat, "He was here. Probably still is, and watching us."

"It's understandable," the man with the blue eyes answered, "Even though they kept their promise to free him, they took his memory and his powers away."

"He was too dangerous to just let go," the ginger haired man added, "I guess they were trying to make sure he didn't renew his plans from before. But it never sat well with me what they did to him."

"It took a long time to find out where they dumped him," the man in the hat mused, "and that's not even the hardest part of our mission."

The brown haired man frowned curiously and left his hiding place. He walked around the side of the house and entered, making the three men turn and look at him with curious eyes.

"Well, well, well," said the man in the hat, smirking at him as he studied the brown haired man's poor clothing, "You've come down a notch or two, haven't you, Sosuke Aizen?"

The brown haired man observed him for a moment before answering.

"I don't know that name," he answered, "but if what you were saying before is true, then it is no mistake that is the case."

"No," said the ginger haired man, "it wasn't a mistake, at least, not to the guys who did this to you."

"But we probably need to explain from the beginning," the man in the hat suggested.

The brown haired man smiled.

"I would offer you tea, but it's a little hard to come by," he said with a little edge of sarcasm, "But sit down. I think I would like to hear your story. I don't get much company here, and what company I do get is usually lacking in manners."

"Thus, the traps outside," the man in the hat chuckled.

"Exactly. Now, you have said my name is Sosuke Aizen. Will you tell me who you are?"

The blonde man nodded.

"I am Kisuke Urahara. Right now, I am a shopkeeper of a small candy store in Karakura Town of the living world."

"Oh, I think you are much more than that," Aizen concluded, eyeing him closely.

"So, even though they could take your memory, you still have your intelligence," Kisuke observed, "That's good."

He nodded in the direction of the two younger men.

"That's Ichigo Shiba, of the Shiba noble family and his husband there is Tetsuya Shiba, formerly of the Kuchiki clan."

"And why is it that a shopkeeper and two members of the powerful noble clans have come to see me, a poor, powerless inhabitant of the low Rukongai? I assume there is something you want? But I can't begin to imagine what someone like me could offer you."

"Well," Kisuke said, still smiling at him, "right now, you don't have anything."

"I assume that, if you are here, there is something you can do so that I can offer you something you want." Aizen concluded.

"Like I said, you're still pretty sharp, despite the mind crushing they put you through," Kisuke chuckled, "I think we were right to come to you."

"If you will pardon me for asking," Aizen said quietly, "who exactly put me through this mind crushing and dumped me in the low Rukongai…and will they, in any way, benefit from me returning?"

"Why?" Kisuke asked, tilting his head slightly, "Are you going to refuse if it will help them?"

"Perhaps," Aizen answered, "It depends on what concessions you make in return for me helping."

"What concessions _I_ make?" Kisuke mused, "Don't you mean the concessions the powers that be make? I told you, I am just…"

"A living world shopkeeper," Aizen said skeptically, "Oh, you are much more than that, Mr. Urahara, aren't you? I confess, I overheard you talking as you arrived. And it seems that I have helped these ones that took my powers and memory before. They have already proven themselves to not be trustworthy."

"But you trust me, a total stranger?" Kisuke asked, "Why would you do that?"

Aizen's smile warmed.

"I think you already know the answer to that, or you wouldn't have come," he surmised, "You seemed disapproving of their choices when it came to me. Having to decide whether to rest my fate with you or those who have already betrayed me, I think the choice is simple. And without you, I have little hope of changing my circumstances. But you knew all of that and gambled on it, coming here. All that is left to be answered is what exactly you want, and what you are offering me for it."

"Sharp as always, Sosuke," Kisuke complimented him, "Fine then, here's the story. A year or so ago, the shinigamis were attacked by a race called the quincies. They were nearly defeated in that war before Ichigo, here, and Tetsuya's cousin, Rukia, managed to eke out a victory, and to kill the quincy king. Central 46, which is made up of the most powerful elders of the noble clans, seated a new king and we all picked up the pieces. We all kinda went back to what we'd been doing, except for Ichigo, who was settling into his new role as the heir of the Shiba clan. Anyway, about a week ago, something really weird happened within Central 46. The alarms went off and the place shut down without any warning. You don't remember, but that place is a fortress, and no one can get inside. Our only clue to what happened was that one of the council pages staggered out before the shutdown was complete. All he was able to tell us was that some kind of monster or demon had killed everyone inside. The lockdown is keeping whatever is in there contained. All of the Gotei's captains and vice captains are using their power to hold the defenses."

"But something tells me that whatever is inside will not be imprisoned there forever," Aizen posited.

"No," Kisuke confirmed, "whatever that thing is, it's too powerful to be held back indefinitely. And if it breaks free, I'm not sure I know anyone who can stop it."

"But you think that if you restore my powers, I can?" Aizen mused, "I must have been very powerful to be able to do that."

"We're going to have to work together, you, these young men, and me. The captains have to keep suppressing the monster's advance. They can't help. It's just going to be the four of us in there."

"We will be entering Central 46?" Aizen asked.

"Yeah, it's a little ironic for you, even if you remember enough to get the joke here. You managed to invade Central 46 before to kill the council and try to initiate your plans. The council's probably already dead this time, but what we'll need to do is break in again and kill that thing, whatever it is."

Do you have any idea what it is?" Aizen asked.

"Well, no one's completely sure," Kisuke answered, "The page that escaped lost consciousness after just telling us there was a monster inside. He died before he could tell us any more. I was able to examine him, and I did find something that I was hesitant to tell the Gotei, because if it's true, then we are really in trouble here."

"Is that so?"

"You do remember the gates of hell, Jigoku, right?"

"Yes," Aizen supplied, "It seems I wasn't deprived of general knowledge, just personal knowledge."

"Yeah, I know. It was an old method I discovered and abandoned while I was in charge of the Research Department."

"Thank you for that," Aizen said dryly.

"I wouldn't complain too much, because you also raided my research files there to help in your own scheme."

"Touchè," Aizen sighed, smirking, "Apparently, I was well aware of your intellect."

"Yeah, and that same intellect, along with Ichigo's powers eventually defeated you. Are you still sure you want to consider going along with this?"

"As the other option is to wait for the beast to escape and to come after everyone, and having no powers to fight the thing with, I suppose I have no real choice."

"I thought you'd see it that way," Kisuke chuckled, "So, getting back to the story, I found a little deposit of reiatsu on the page's body that I took to my lab in the living world, and later identified as reiatsu of a class of powerful demon that lives only in hell. Apparently, either one of them found a way to enter Central 46, or…"

Aizen's eyes widened.

"Or they summoned the demon?" he mused.

"We suspect they paid with their lives," Kisuke went on.

"And while I don't feel the slightest twinge for their suffering and deaths, I see we can't let this thing out to have its way with Soul Society."

"So, you'll help out?" Kisuke asked.

"That depends," Aizen said, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes, "on what you offer me in return."

"What about _not getting devoured by a raging demon_?" Ichigo asked angrily, "If you don't care about anyone else's lives, you might wanna think about your own. You can't do anything about the demon unless you have your powers."

"And you can't stop it unless I have my powers," Aizen said, matter-of-factly, "So, offer me something worth me going to the effort for those who imprisoned and then betrayed me."

"Well, you did betray all of us first," Ichigo said sullenly, "I didn't agree with Central 46's decision to screw you over after the quincy war, but you weren't exactly trustworthy, yourself, you know."

"Apparently," Aizen agreed, but no one is going to have their needs met here unless you can convince me it is in my best interests to help you. Why should I take the risk of you imprisoning me or taking away my mind and powers again when this is done?"

"Well, I can't make promises about what the Gotei 13 will do, but I can agree to allow you to keep your powers and memories when this thing is over. Granted, I now know how to nullify your powers, so you won't be able to backstab Soul Society like you did before, but then…you probably just want to be left alone, right? To be allowed to pursue a quiet life somewhere pretty?"

"I could live with that," Aizen agreed, "But I would have to have reasonable assurance that I would be left to live peacefully."

"Hmmm, I'd suggest not attacking Soul Society and keeping a low profile after this is done."

"That doesn't sound too onerous," Aizen decided.

"Then, you'll go along with this?" Kisuke asked.

"Well, I don't have many more attractive choices," Aizen answered, "but neither do you. I would say that neither one of us benefits if I say no. So yes, I will assist you…as I said, in exchange for the return of my powers and memory…and I want your protection from interferences by Soul Society after."

"I think I can agree to that," Kisuke answered, extending a hand.

Aizen gave the shopkeeper a sly smile and accepted.

"So, when will you return my powers?" Aizen asked.

Kisuke gave him an amused look.

"How about as soon as I figure out how?"

Aizen arched a dark eyebrow and gave him a malevolent look.

"You don't know how to restore my powers?" he asked, "Then, why come here?"

"I need your body in my lab to figure things out," Kisuke answered, shrugging.

"If it was anyone else, I think I wouldn't allow them to touch me," Aizen mused, "but given that both Soul Society and I, myself, before I lost my memory, respected your intelligence enough to seek your research, I suppose it's the best choice."

"Good," Kisuke said approvingly, "Then, if you'll put on this gigai, we'll escort you back to my lab."

"I suppose if I was a notorious criminal, it wouldn't be good for you to be seen walking around with me," Aizen surmised.

"Exactly," Kisuke agreed, "But hey, if you do this, maybe when the next council is seated, they'll be smarter than this one and not try to screw you over."

"I won't hold my breath," Aizen sighed, accepting the gigai from Kisuke.

"Probably a good decision," Kisuke chuckled, watching as Aizen ducked behind a tattered cloth to change.

He and the two young men slipped outside to wait.

"Tetsuya, Ichigo," Kisuke said quietly, "You need to watch him carefully. As soon as his powers are restored, it's going to be a problem."

"And with both his powers and memories, he will be even more dangerous," Tetsuya added.

"I have that covered," Kisuke assured them, "See, just because I'm giving back somethings doesn't mean I'm giving back _everything_."

He started to say more, then paused and smiled as Aizen exited the house, concealed within the gigai.

"Great, you look just like nobody interesting," Kisuke chuckled, "No one'll have the slightest idea we're bringing back the worst criminal in Soul Society's history."

"Let's hope not," Ichigo whispered to Tetsuya, "because it's anyone's guess who they'd worry about more, Aizen or that demon."

Tetsuya smiled reassuringly at his husband and offered him a bracing kiss.

"Don't worry, we'll look out for each other."

"Thanks, but Kisuke's really going to have to watch out. Even like this, Aizen's a dangerous man."

"Well, as dangerous as he is," Tetsuya said, glancing at the shopkeeper, "Kisuke is pretty dangerous, himself."

"You're right about that," Ichigo said, recovering his smile, "Come on, Tetsuya, let's go!"


	2. Wicked Inside

**Chapter 2: Wicked Inside**

 **(Happy Aizenmonth to all reading! The site is still not working properly, so I don't know if any of you are getting updates. Hopefully, the glitch will be fixed soon. Love to all, Spunky)**

Kisuke looked up as Sosuke emerged from the lab's dressing area, wearing a simple white yukata, and he nodded towards an examination table, next to which a side table full of medical implements waited.

"I'll be there in a minute," the shopkeeper said, looking back at his computer monitor and pressing an array of buttons, "Just have to finish setting up a program. Also have to make sure the recording gear is working. If I actually manage to do this. I'll want to look back on it fondly."

"I see," Sosuke said, lying down on the examination table and waiting quietly as the shopkeeper completed his preparations.

Kisuke stepped across the room and looked down at the brown eyed man.

"Last chance to change your mind," he warned Aizen.

"It is not a taxing decision," Sosuke answered, "Proceed."

Kisuke nodded.

"I'm going to need you naked for a little while, but the lab door is locked. We won't have any interruptions."

"You make it sound as though we will be up to more than science, Mr. Urahara."

"You can call me Kisuke."

"Very well."

"And sorry, science is all we have time for. But maybe after the monster from down under gets sent packing…"

"Are you teasing me?" Aizen asked curiously, "You enjoy playing verbal games. I find that interesting as well, although there weren't many in the low Rukongai who could understand them, let alone play any with me."

"Are you saying they should have dumbed you down to fit in?" Kisuke asked.

"I am only saying that there wasn't much to stimulate the mind in that place. So, I focused my intelligence on strategies for remaining alive and not being viciously brutalized by the humanoid monsters of the region." Aizen mused.

"Well, the good news is that I will probably be bending your mind and mine to get your powers kickstarted again."

"What makes you think I would be able to offer you ideas?" Aizen asked, frowning, "I don't even know what method you used when you were devising the devilish method that left me like this in the first place."

"Then, maybe you should pay close attention to my current research, if you don't want to be put back in that state again."

"Maybe I should," Aizen agreed, watching closely as Kisuke leaned over him and opened his yukata, baring his thin and scarred, but muscular frame.

"You've lost some weight," the shopkeeper commented, "but you look like you've kept in pretty good shape, considering where you were."

"Protecting your life in the low Rukongai will stimulate one to do that," Aizen said dryly.

"Right," Kisuke agreed, his hand holding a small scanner just over Aizen's naked form, and his grey eyes studying the results on an overhead monitor.

"May I ask you something?" Aizen inquired.

"Mmhmm," Kisuke mumbled absently.

Aizen's fingetips reached up to touch a huge scar with jagged edges in the middle of his otherwise undamaged chest.

"What did this to me?"

Kisuke's hand paused for a moment as he considered the question.

"How about, _your own recklessness_?" he offered, keeping his eyes carefully fixed on the monitor.

"I was wondering if it was from when my mind and powers were destroyed," Aizen posited.

"Nope," Kisuke said, carefully avoiding the other man's eyes, "Why don't we just leave it at, _It was the one time you ever did anything for humanity and not just for you_."

"I will take your careful phrasing as a sign that this is not something you will just tell me."

"That's right."

"Very well," Aizen sighed, "That is disappointing, but I suppose there will be an opportunity to address the question later."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Kisuke said off-handedly, "Let's focus on the task at hand. First, I'm going to map your spirit centers and measure the strength of your spirit core. I'm not getting fresh, here, I have to touch you with bare hands to sense them while you're this weak."…

"I would apologize for the inconvenience, but it was your method that was used to make me so weak."

"It's nothing I can't work around," Kisuke said, bending closer.

Aizen's dark eyes blinked slowly as the other man's warm, attractive scent drifted across his senses.

"Your heart's kinda racing," Kisuke noted, glancing at him.

"I feel somewhat lightheaded."

Aizen paused and met his eyes warily.

"It is probably that I haven't eaten. I was barely consuming enough. It always seemed odd to me that even though I had no powers, I needed to eat, like the ones with shinigami powers."

"That's because even though your powers were destroyed, your spirit centers continued to channel reiatsu. You just couldn't use it. It kept you alive, helped you struggle along, but it required energy, so you felt hunger. But you don't need to worry about that anymore. As soon as we're done here, you can bathe and Tessai will make sure we're all properly fed. I would've done that first, but there's some real urgency about getting you powered up right away. Every minute could count."

Aizen nodded briefly.

"I am not terribly uncomfortable. Or, I should say that my situation is no less bearable than it has been for as long as I can remember. I suppose my level of discomfort would be greater if I had something to compare my current state to."

"That makes sense," Kisuke said, consulting the monitor and rapidly making several entries on the keypad.

He turned back to Aizen, holding a different scanner in his hand.

"I'll just hold this up to an eye to take a retinal scan and I'll need tissue and reiatsu samples," he explained, "I have your military records, so I can see exactly where we need to work to restore things."

"Will I be allowed to see those records?" Aizen asked.

Kisuke nodded, earning a sly smile from the man he was examining.

"Sure."

 _Meaning that Kisuke has ensured that they contain nothing that he doesn't want me to know. But there must be a way to access more._

"Are there records of any family or friends who might be able to assist us?" Aizen inquired.

"We-e-ell, you didn't have any family…at least, none that Central 46 knew about. And most of the people you were friends with are dead. You had a tendency to kill them, once they had served their purposes."

"I see."

Kisuke paused and looked down into his eyes for a moment.

"I suppose you could say that I am one of the few friends you didn't kill after using them. But it wasn't because you didn't try."

"It's because you outsmarted me."

Kisuke smiled charismatically.

"As much as I'd like to take all of the credit, I wouldn't have stood a chance of beating you, if your ego was more normally sized."

"Ah…"

"You got cocky. You got sloppy. I didn't miss the opportunity to use that."

"It's odd," Aizen mused, "You sound a bit disappointed about that. It almost sounds as though you enjoyed engaging me."

Kisuke shrugged.

"I'm a science freak. I like anything that makes me think harder."

Aizen's brown eyes observed him quietly as he turned back to the monitor.

"So, you say that before I betrayed everyone, we were friends?"

"Yeah," Kisuke affirmed, "Of course, you were in disguise, so you may or may not have really enjoyed our interactions."

"I was in disguise?"

"Uh-huh," Kisuke answered, turning his attention to a small laptop and making several entries, "Your power involved affecting the senses so that your victims sensed what you wanted them to. We all looked at you and saw a gentle man with glasses, who was as intrigued by science as I am. You and I worked together on a few projects. Then, I think you realized that I was getting suspicious and you made sure we didn't cross paths so much while you were playing out your diabolical plans."

"I sensed you were a threat," Aizen concluded, "But if you were getting suspicious, surely I could have killed you and made it look like an accident."

"Yeah," Kisuke agreed, glancing at him and tilting his head slightly, "You probably could have. I was actually curious later about why you didn't. It would've made sense."

Aizen smiled.

"I must have liked you."

"Naw, you liked that I'm a brilliant scientist and I could think of useful things you could use. So, instead of killing me, you framed me and had me thrown out of Soul Society…banished here to Karakura Town."

Aizen frowned.

"But surely, Central 46 would have let you return upon learning that I was the true offender."

"Well, it took a little more than that, but eventually, I was fully reinstated and given a secret ranking so that I would assist them when needed. I chose to stay here so that I'd be…what's the polite way of saying this? A little less _under their thumb_?"

"Hmm."

"Turns out, I like working without them looking over my shoulder all of the time."

Kisuke went silent for several minutes, looking over all of the information he had gathered before nodding in approval and turning his attention back to the man on the examination table.

"I've got what I need," he said, his voice betraying an edge of weariness, "You can cover up and we can go and shower now."

Aizen sat up and tied his yukata back in place, then he slid down off of the examination table and followed Kisuke out of the room. To his surprise, the shopkeeper led him, not towards the guest room he had been given, but to the end of the hallway, where a long ladder led down into the huge underground chamber they had arrived in on their trip out of the Rukongai. He remained silent as they descended into the room and Kisuke led him past the training area, to a large, oasis-like garden that had, at its center, a vast bathing pool with several tall waterfall showers and a number of soaking areas.

"I modeled this after Captain Kuchiki's. Not that you remember, but he's the leader of the Kuchiki clan. His home has the most beautiful gardens in the three worlds, and he has a bathing room like this…well, his is a little better, but who's counting, right?"

"This is lovely," Aizen said, staring at the area intently.

"Are you okay?" Kisuke asked, frowning, "You look a little…"

"I can't remember having a hot bath…ever," Aizen said, keeping his eyes on the bathing pool.

"Well then, let me remind you," Kisuke said, beginning to remove his clothing.

"Ah, you were speaking literally when you said that _we_ were going to bathe."

Kisuke gave him a tired grin.

"Hey, I saw you naked. I guess it's only fair if you see me that way…unless it makes you uncomfortable."

Aizen let out a soft, amused breath.

"I don't think discomfort will be possible here," he replied, slipping out of his yukata and stepping into the hot water.

He waded out slowly, sucking in a shocked breath at how the coldness that had always been around him suddenly melted away, and he was warmed to the core. A sigh of contentment escaped him. He headed out to one of the waterfalls and took up a position beneath it, letting the water rain down onto his slim form. He breathed in deeply, closing his eyes, but feeling that Kisuke was watching him closely.

"Am I that interesting to watch?" he asked the shopkeeper, without opening his eyes.

"I was just curious," Kisuke confessed as he moved to claim the waterfall beside the one Aizen occupied, "I used to wonder…if you took away the evil plans, the insane powers and all of that, would Sousuke Aizen be human like the rest of us, or would he still be a murderous beast?"

"I don't really feel like killing anyone at the moment," Aizen said, smiling crookedly, "You are being a marvelous host…and you said that the people who ordered the destruction of my mind and powers are all dead anyway."

"There's also the fact that you know I'm stronger than you right now," Kisuke surmised, "You'll probably feel more like killing me once you remember whatever it is that made you such a deadly bastard before. I…always kinda wondered what did that to you."

"I wonder also," Aizen mused as his hands lathered soap all over his filthy skin and slowly washed the layers of filth away. He washed and rinsed his hair several times, then scrubbed himself from head to toe once more, before leaving the waterfall and following Kisuke back across the bathing pool to the edge, where the two dressed in fresh yukatas, before returning to the ladder.

"Let me save us some time," Kisuke said, wrapping his arm around Aizen and lifting the two of them into the air in a long flash step that ended with them standing at the top of the ladder and looking down.

As Kisuke released him, he was sure he spotted a little flush on the shopkeeper's face.

 _Oh, lovely adversary. That was a little reckless, wasn't it?_

"Come on," Kisuke said, heading into the hallway, "I think I'm as hungry as you must be."

He led the former captain to the kitchen, where the two sat down to a huge meal.

 _Strange._

 _I don't know what it is to have a full stomach._

He ate what he was sure was a shocking amount of the savory food that Tessai had prepared, feeling Kisuke's eyes stealing glances at him and sensing a touch of discomfort in the shopkeeper.

 _Sympathy for a man you have called a beast, a bastard and a monster? You are a complicated person, Kisuke Urahara. Intriguing…_

"You can have as much as you want," Kisuke assured him, "Your body has been on starvation mode while you were in the Rukongai. It will take a lot of buckets to fill the void. Don't be embarrassed, just dig right in."

He wasn't sure how long it took, but he was sue that it had been well over an hour before he was properly sated and sat back from the table, touching a napkin to his lips and sighing contentedly.

Kisuke nodded in approval.

"Go and get some sleep now," he advised Aizen, "I'm sure that you weren't able to sleep deeply where you were. Don't worry, no one here wants you dead. We need you alive, for the moment."

"That's very reassuring," Aizen said dryly.

He watched as Kisuke turned back towards the laboratory, then he entered the guest room he had been given and laid down on the sinfully soft bed. He was asleep in minutes and he slept more deeply than he remembered ever sleeping.

Until the moment he sensed deadly golden eyes observing him and felt the sudden, icy feel of impending death. He sat up, sucking in a sharp breath and staring into the darkness.

 _Was I only dreaming?_

 _What I felt was something horribly powerful. I don't see anything. I don't sense anything now._

It was a long time before he could convince himself to sleep.

And as he slept, the wicked eyes continued to watch him.


End file.
